Santa Clara Valley Water District and local partners confirm flood protection reliability

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Susan Siravo
Office: (408) 265-2607, ext. 2290
Mobile: (408) 398-0754

SANTA CLARA COUNTY— Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) is partnering with several cities and the county on a project to re-evaluate local levees and surrounding flood-prone areas. This re-evaluation process is part of the Federal Emergency Management Association’s (FEMA) Flood Map Modernization project and includes levees owned by Valley Water.

The Flood Map Modernization project is an effort to update all Flood Insurance Rate Maps, an important tool in protecting people who live near flood zones. These maps indicate high and moderate flood risk zones, including an assessment of the reliability of thousands of miles of levees across the country. In order to provide accurate, up-to-date flood-zone maps, all levees in the United States must be re-accredited by FEMA.

Valley Water and the communities it serves have a mutual interest in providing safety and flood protection to county residents and are taking a proactive approach to flood protection by voluntarily participating in FEMA’s project.

Currently, Valley Water owns and maintains 52 miles of protective levees and need in-depth evaluation for only three Provisionally Accredited Levees (PALs) in Santa Clara County:

• A 2.2-mile reach of Uvas Creek between Highway 101 and Santa Teresa Boulevard in Gilroy and Santa Clara County.
• A 1.8-mile reach of Stevens Creek, downstream of Highway 101 in Mountain View
• A 0.7-mile reach of Lower Penitencia Creek between Highway 880 and the Berryessa Creek confluence in Milpitas

PALs are levees that FEMA has accredited in past years and Valley Water  anticipates  will continue to provide protection from one-percent flooding. This temporary certification allows the levee owner to collect all documentation necessary to fully re-accredit a levee.

During this review time, the most up-to-date information will be made available to the public so that flood insurance can be purchased if necessary and other flood-related decisions can be made by residents.

“It is important to do an assessment of flood protection systematically so that we are confident in our level of flood protection,” says Ann Draper, Watershed Programs Assistant Officer at Valley Water.

Systems put in place by municipalities including water flow, drainage, and land use can influence or cause levees to decay and deteriorate over time. Therefore, city and county participation in this evaluation is essential. 

Valley Water performs an in-depth annual review of the local levee system and makes necessary repairs to maintain a high level of flood protection. The analysis of local levee design, stability and maintenance that is required to receive re-accreditation from FEMA is far more extensive than Valley Water’s annual review.

If the analysis finds that FEMA’s criteria are not met, the levee will not be mapped as providing flood protection from the 1% flood levels, and the land area behind the levee will be mapped as a risk area, requiring flood insurance.

Why map modernization and levee recertification is important:

• Updated maps will provide a more current overview of where flood hazards may occur and will allow the public to access flood hazard data and maps
• Improved technology can better determine flood hazards
• Builders and developers will have access to more detailed and up-to-date information essential to making construction decisions
• Community officials and residents will be more aware of flood zones and can better prepare for flood-related disasters
• Insurance companies will have access to the most up-to-date information on flood zones and can provide their customers with proper flood insurance coverage

Although the accreditation process assesses flood protection from a 1% flood level, protection from all possible flood situations is not guaranteed and flood insurance is recommended for all residents.

For more information about Valley Water’s participation in FEMA’s Flood Map Modernization project, contact Susan Siravo at ssiravo@valleywater.org or at (408)265-2607, ext. 2290.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District manages wholesale drinking water resources and provides stewardship for the county's five watersheds, including 10 reservoirs, hundreds of miles of streams and groundwater basins. Valley Water also provides flood protection throughout Santa Clara County.